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Round 3

May 2011

Best Practices & Innovations (BPI) Initiative

Agriculture & Rural Livelihoods

Education for Income Generation In Nepal

Winrock International

Best Practice Award for Access to Markets and Entrepreneurial Literacy

Overview:

The USAID-funded Education for Income Generation (EIG) Program in Nepal is facilitating social change

within households by combining income generation with entrepreneurial literacy. EIG provides training

in market-linked agriculture production, home-based enterprises and vocational training along with an

integrated entrepreneurial literacy class that teaches numeracy, business planning, credit, life skills,

governance, nutrition and basic health care. Young women, often marginalized in their husbands

homes, are gaining confidence that comes from knowledge and respect from their husbands and

mothers-in-law by earning income. Consequently, these empowered women play a greater role in

decisionschanging customs revolving around nutrition, health and childrens education.

Intervention Details:

Location All Fifteen Districts in the Mid-Western Region in Nepal

Start Date January 3, 2008

End Date January 2, 2013

Scale State/Provincial/Sub-national

Target Population Marginalized youth: low caste, minority ethnic groups, conflict affected

and women between the ages of 16 and 30 years old.

Number of beneficiaries Direct individuals trained and earning higher incomes: 70,000

Partners International Development Enterprises, International Evaluation and

Training Corporation (IETC), and eight local partners that include

Development Project Service Center (DEPROSC); Samjhauta Nepal

(Samjhauta); Karnali Integrated Rural Development and Research Center

(KIRDARC); Alliance for Social Mobilization (Alliance Nepal); Federation of

Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI); F-Skill, Support

Activities for Poor Producers of Nepal (SAPPROS); and Center for

Environmental, Agricultural Policy Research Extension and Development

(CEAPRED).

Funders/Donors USAID/Nepal

Total Funding $14,681,683; Funding for the best practices components = $5,834,001

Website http://www.winrock.org/
http://www.winrock.org/http://www.winrock.org/http://www.winrock.org/


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About the Intervention

1. Background/Context

What challenges or problems were the interventions designed to address? Why was the intervention

needed?In Nepal, youth from low castes and minority ethnic groups tend to be marginalized, malnourished, and less

educated and poorer than their peers in the general population. They tend to live in remote areas and have

few assets, little access to government services, and limited opportunities to change their situation.

Members of these vulnerable groups joined the Maoist insurgency at a higher rate than other groups.

Following the 2006 Peace Accord, which ended the 13-year Maoist Insurgency in Nepal, the Education for

Income Generation (EIG) program has been training and linking marginalized and conflict-affected youth to

income generating opportunities in areas of Nepal where the insurgency began.

The largest subset of the marginalized groups, women, even those from all castes and ethnic groups, tend

to be treated as second class citizens in Nepal. They rarely own land, many dont control household

finances, and in poorer households a girls education is sacrificed for her brothers. New brides move intotheir husbands home and hold the lowest status in the household they generally eat last, after others

have had second or third helpings. As a result, even in food secure households, women may be

malnourished if the vegetables and meat are eaten by others.

EIG is improving the lives of these marginalized individuals by providing them with a foundation of skills and

knowledge through entrepreneurial literacy courses, agricultural training, and demand-driven vocational

training. The program opens up opportunities for individuals to embark on life long careers, creating

promising futures and therefore discouraging them from engaging in conflict.

The program has demonstrated that combining courses in entrepreneurial literacy with agricultural training

and market linkages leads to much greater impact than simply increasing peoples income. Secondary and

tertiary benefits in other sectors are emerging with this powerful combination of interventions.

2. Goals & Objectives

What were the interventions goals and objectives? What was it meant to accomplish?

The goal of the EIG program is to mitigate conflict by training targeted youth for employment and increased

income in the Mid-Western Region of Nepal.

Two of the projects objectives are to:

1) Improve literacy, life skills, and peace-building skills for targeted youth2) Increase rural income and agricultural productivity for targeted youth

When combined, these two objectives represent a best practice in increasing the skills and confidence of

marginalized youth particularly young women so that they can earn income, change intra-household

dynamics, and increase their social status within the community. This is a best practice because the

entrepreneurial literacy training for women amplifies the other impacts for which the project strives. For


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example, applied entrepreneurial literacy gives women confidence (empowerment) to assume a larger role

in their households and communities. By increasing agricultural (horticultural or livestock) production and

through increased income, she gains the respect of family members (husband, mother in law) and her

community. With the respect earned from her family and increased confidence, she is able to change

cultural norms and low social status. For example, women are able to exercise more control over household

assets (income), health and nutrition, as well as participate in community activities. She gains the ability tobecome a better provider for her family and a more active citizen.

3. Key Activities

Please describe the interventions main activities. What role did each partner play? If applicable, how is the

intervention innovative?

The best practice is the combination of a practical, engaging entrepreneurial literacy program with high-

value horticultural training that links marginalized youth to markets and results in tangible income

generation.

Using a community-based self-selection process, the program identifies marginalized youth in targeted

communities who have less than a class five education. These beneficiaries participate in a ten-month

integrated, entrepreneurial literacy course taught by local teachers who are trained in a curriculum

developed by the program. This part of the program covers a variety of topics including literacy, numeracy,

simple math, health, peace building, community engagement, life skills, how to access credit , and

entrepreneurship. Courses are hands-on and interactive, using a range of techniques such as stories, role

play, group discussion, and guest speakers. Participants take field trips to the district centers to learn about

services that the government provides. Courses not only teach beneficiaries how to read, but also educate

them on key topics such as their rights and responsibilities as citizens; how to engage in meetings; nutrition,

HIV/AIDS and family planning; how to access services provided by the government and NGOs; basic

mathematics including how to calculate profit; how to develop a simple business plan; and how to establish

a savings group cooperative and access credit.

Either at the same time or later, the EIG program provides farmer field training courses for the same

beneficiaries. The courses are organized by Local Service Providers, who are individuals from the

communities whom we train in basic entrepreneurial and agricultural skills. We link them to the markets

and to private sector input suppliers trained by the program who earn a salary based on commission and

fee-based services provided to the farmer. The participants (who form a production group) are trained in

how to grow off-season vegetables and other high-value agricultural products (including horticulture,

livestock and fish). EIG trains beneficiaries in raising specific high-value products based on both the local

environment and local market demand. We introduce micro-irrigation, water storage ponds, low-cost

plastic greenhouses, and other productivity-enhancing technologies that can be procured locally. EIG also

links beneficiaries to credit and to local government programs for financial continued technical support.With increased income, most farmers are able to repay micro-loans for basic inputs after one season. We

encourage beneficiaries to raise three crops per year and link them to buyers and the market.

Multiple production groups in a similar geographic area are aggregated to create a pocket area. The

pocket area typically consists of at least 200 beneficiaries and represents the critical mass required to

attract private sector input suppliers and buyers to the pocket area. To facilitate equitable and sustainable

value chain linkages, representatives of the different production groups, along with key leaders from the


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please explain the rationale for doing so.

EIG targets marginalized youth through literacy training. To date 94% of participants have less than

a class five education; 75% have no education. In Nepal, daughters-in-law have the lowest status in

the household. These women who may be pregnant or nursing are expected to engage in

physical labor and often eat last and less nutritious food.

The training has been successful at benefiting women because it combines entrepreneurial literacy

with agriculture for income generation. To enable womens participation, literacy courses are held

at a time and location that is convenient for the participants. Families hesitant to let the young

woman participate are counseled by the literacy class management committee (based in the

village). Once women begin earning money, husbands treat their wives with more respect.

Recognizing that many participants are new mothers who have to balance the classes with work

and childcare, each class provides toys so that young children can play outside the classroom with

supervision. The classroom and training are child-friendly.

By increasing womens foundational knowledge, the literacy class empowers women and givesthem the confidence and skills (math, negotiation skills, planning, entrepreneurial drive etc.)

required to manage successful home-based enterprises such as small-scale vegetable production.

The wide applicability of the skills and qualities developed in the training keep people engaged.

The agricultural training focuses on low-cost inputs, affordable productivity-enhancing

technologies, and small plots so that people with very little land can produce more food for the

market (as well as their own consumption). Agricultural training consists of a series of short classes

held in the village at a farmers field so they dont take a tremendous amount of time out of the

beneficiaries busy schedule. These small holders are linked to markets and often have an

advantage in the market because they produce through learned technologies off-season products

with higher values.

Women save time by accessing water through multiple use water systems, an affordable

productivity enhancing technology meeting their needs for drinking, productive use and agriculture,

rather than collecting it at the tap or the river. These systems can save women from 4-8 hours a day

depending on the distances.

Through the combination of empowerment, confidence building, and income generation, the status of

marginalized individuals especially women rises in the household and community.

6. Efficiency/Cost-Effectiveness

How do the interventions relative costs compare to the outcomes achieved? Please provide evidence to

support your answer.

Based on this model, beneficiaries are earning an average of $240/year. Moreover, a jobs study revealed

that approximately four jobs are created along the value chain for each person trained in market driven,

high-value agriculture production and generate, on average, 3,000 rupees/month. Using a value chain

approach has a significant impact on indirect beneficiaries.


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The model is replicable and scalable in Nepal and elsewhere. We invest in training and have staff spend

time coordinating with other donors and government agencies to leverage funds for the beneficiaries. We

establish District Development Committees (DDC) that ensure that beneficiaries have access to other locally

available donor and government resources, and we match beneficiaries to the opportunities or inform

them about the opportunities.

7. Sustainability

Is this intervention sustainable in the long-term, socially, financially and environmentally? Please describe

the steps the intervention took to ensure services or impacts will be sustained over the long term, and the

role of local partners or the beneficiary community in continuing the intervention.

Several aspects of this project are contributing to long-term sustainability. First, the literacy program

teaches beneficiaries basic skills they can use for their entire life under a range of different settings (life

skills, negotiation skills, accessing/using government offices and services, credit and microenterprise skills,

etc). The skills learned are not only applicable to agriculture.

Second, the agricultural training and production is all market driven, and all the supported players are part

of the value chain. For example, the project does not provide subsidies to the beneficiaries. The project

pays for demonstrations on occasion; however, EIG always tries to target a critical mass of beneficiaries so

that the private sector can establish and maintain a viable market for inputs (irrigation, seed, microfinance),

and so that production groups and MPCs can aggregate enough product to link with output markets

through Collection Centers.

Part of the market-driven approach is to build the capacity of Local Service Providers (residents of the

community), who receive incentives through private sector commission, not project funding. They serve as

an important catalyst or middle person between the members of the production groups and the privatesector, microcredit, government, and donor activities. They earn their money based on commissions selling

inputs in the villages and also they are often leader farmers in that area with knowledge that is extended to

others.

8. Challenges & Lessons Learned

What challenges or obstacles did you face and how were they addressed? What are the most important

lessons a reader should take from this practice?

Challenges: It is difficult to implement programs that do not provide subsidies, but beneficiaries whocommit the time and investment required to receive training are truly motivated.

Lessons Learned: Integrated entrepreneurial literacy, combined with income generation, is having a

significant impact on the lives of marginalized youth, especially women. The impact goes beyond simply

having more money:

We are changing the status of some of the most marginalized and poorest.

Young women earning money report that they are spending more funds on food and health for


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